Speak Up, Speak Now
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: "You're encouraging me to give up my secret identity."


**A/N: Thought of it. Wrote it. Posting it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

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><p><em><span>Speak Up, Speak Now<span>_

She'd left her window open because the heater was running haywire in the whole building. The cool autumn air was just enough to keep her room from being an oven. And Artemis had curled up in bed to try and get some sleep while the clanging and cranking of tools in the building's basement sang a metallic lullaby.

"Sleeping with your window open is not a good idea."

The familiar voice. She'd know it anywhere. She sat upright and squinted against the glaring moonlight that stabbed through the panes of darkness. "Robin? It's, like, midnight!" She tried to keep her voice to a loud whisper, not wanting to alert her mother to a stranger in her bedroom at this hour. "What are you doing here?"

"Warning you." He was perched on her windowsill, head craned in enough to get a decent view, although his small form still looked cramped in the empty square. His slight form slithered in and managed to keep his cape from catching on the bushes outside. "You should start talking now."

Her brow knit together, and her forehead wrinkled with slight confusion. "What are you talking about?" A quick glance at the glaring red numbers on her alarm clock announced that it was well past midnight and nearing two in the morning. She hadn't been into Mount Justice in two whole days, she was trying to get her life back in order, and Artemis was _tired_. Midnight was good for a mission, not for little birds whispering things through windows.

"All your secrets." He was forcing himself to stand proudly, to meet her gaze. "Batman knows because Batman knows all. I know because, well, I'm like a mini-Batman." A slight smile curved his mouth upwards. "Point is, you should start talking before suspicions are pinned. I know you're clean even though your record isn't."

"If this is about my dad-"

"It is..." He hesitated slightly, knowing that was both truth and lie. "...and isn't." He checked the window quietly before welcoming himself into the warmth of the room. "The team could easily find out about your ties and your background and assume you kept it secret because you're the mole. That's all I'm saying."

She couldn't stand her ground while sitting in bed. She pulled her thin blanket off her body and swung her feet to the edge of the bed before standing up and letting one hip jut out; one hand then fell on that hip. "You're encouraging me to give up my secret identity."

He paused and mulled it over for a moment. "Not necessarily give it up, but more along the lines of letting them know where you come from, just so it's not a shock to them that you were once part of the Shadows and trained as an assassin under Ra's and Sportsmaster. Them finding out on their own is more dangerous for you. Brings up accusations and other unwanted attention."

"Ironic coming from you, Mr. Dark Sunglasses." Venom rolled off her tongue, fresh from the viper's fangs.

"I'd tell you if I could, but I'm on Batman's orders. Believe me, the secret ID thing is no fun when you're dying to tell someone." A somewhat pained and sad smile found it's way onto his pale features. "And you wouldn't have to say your name, just tell them that you worked under the Shadows for a while, that's all."

"It'd ruin my life. Wally would kill me, no one would trust me-"

"And they'd trust you if they happened to see that your dad's a Shadows assassin, that your sister's a Shadows assassin, that you were a Shadows assassin, and that you lied to them about being Green Arrow's niece?" He gave a distasteful huff. "That would go over a whole lot better, wouldn't it?"

She swallowed hard and bit her lower lip. For once, the kid had a point, and, although she hated to admit it, he was right. Artemis folded her arms across her chest and looked away, defensive body language that Robin could read with ease. He continued gently, "Just think about it. No last name, just a quick background. Stop keeping secrets or your head might be on the chopping block first and the real mole could lynch you before anyone else can come to your defense."

When her eyes darted up to look at the raven-haired bird again, he was gone, no swishing of a cape outside her window, no signs of his presence ever being there. Some part of the archer's mind questioned whether the whole thing had been real or not.

She laid back down, pulled the thin blanket close to her body, and stared at the Cheshire cat as it smiled down on her. Artemis couldn't help but wonder what Jade would do.

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><p><strong>AN: She should really say _something_… She and Miss M are in danger if their secrets get out… Anyways, review?**

**~Sky**


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